[The Listserve] If nothing changes

Let’s get the obligatory “Wow, I won! What do I say?” out of the way.
This is such an interesting platform to have. Faced with a (mildly interested) audience, what do I say? What do I tell you that you don’t already know? I don’t feel compelled to give advice or tell “my story.” In this moment I am faced with a desire to want to say The Right Things. I need to go get some lunch and think about this. One hour and fifty-six minutes left to write something of which I can feel at least somewhat proud.

I’ll share with you a quote that I really love, which is,
“If nothing changes, nothing changes.”

It’s simple—perhaps too much so—but it speaks to me. The idea that positive things and the life that we want to live comes (at times) at the price of sacrificing the comfortable and familiar.

I am somewhat plagued by inertia. In fact, I won The Listserve just over a year ago in December 2016. And I never submitted anything. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say, which felt daunting, but I also just got lazy. This slothfulness creeps into most of the various areas of my life. (Ironically, I have a deep-seated fear of sloths.) I know the solution, and it’s pretty simple: when I take action, I feel good in the long-term; when I do nothing, it’s comfortable but ultimately that comfort is short-lived. How do you overcome this? By simply taking the initial step, I suppose. And then the inertia of simply keeping moving kicks in, and things get done.

Over the past eight months, I’ve gone through a lot of changes—so I can’t really say that “nothing has changed” but that quote has certainly made me reflect on the ways in which I do want my life to change and what I want it to become. And the fact of the matter is, it’s not going to get that way on its own. I’ve surprised myself by doing some things I never thought I would do, but then again, I’ve also not surprised myself by continuing some of the same behaviors of complacency. Change can be so slow. To all (ten) of you reading this, go and do something that you know you should but have been putting off! And then tell me what you did.
I’m glad to have had the opportunity to share this quote and my thoughts with you and grateful for the many good things life has to offer. I hope you feel that way today, too.